Mistakes
by SonicMario33
Summary: An alternate universe fic. A little girl named Clementine showed up, with a mysterious injury on her arm. They all assumed it was a walker bite. They locked her in a shed. She died. It's their fault, and they know it. They made their mistakes. They need to owe up to them.
1. Chapter 1

Tensions were running high in that small cabin. A little girl named Clementine, seemingly bit by a lurker, locked outside in a shed, freezing. Probably with an infected arm.

Luke sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He couldn't believe it. Carlos was supposed to be a doctor. How could he not tell the difference between a lurker bite and a dog bite?

"This is wrong." He mumbled. "That- that girl needed our help, and we locked her in a fuckin' shed, Nick." He didn't look at his friend, who sat across from him.

"She's bit. We shoulda shot her when we had the chance." Nick said simply. His eyes stared at the single candle light that flickered on the table. His posture stiff and agitated. "Why are you so upset about this? You don't even know her."

Luke still didn't look. "She's just a girl, Nick. Plus, I'm pretty damn sure lurker bites don't look like dog bites."

"And how would you know?"

"You got bit by a dog when we were twelve! That bite looked exactly like this one!"

Nick's eyes shifted ever so slightly. "You don't know. She'll turn."

"Yeah, cuz she'll have died from an infected arm, that we coulda stopped!" Luke's hands moved from his face to his hair, gripping the strands and pulling slightly. "I don't know why we're all so fuckin' blind. She ain't bit, Nick."

Truth is, Luke knew exactly why everyone was so quick to condemn Clementine. Ever since Nick's mom died, the group was cracking. Every little thing just seemed to break them more. Now, a little girl, all alone gets found in a cluster of lurkers with a bite on her arm.

"I'm gonna check on her."

Nick finally turned his head to look at the man. "You're fucking nuts. I'm comin' too."

"Fine. Being your gun."

"No shit."

The two stood and started making their way to the door.

"And where do you two think you're going?" Pete's voice questioned as he came down the stairs. "My guess is you're checking up on Clementine. Mind if I ask why?"

Luke answered. "I don't think she's bit, Pete. I just- I just don't. And I can't just sit here without makin' sure."

Nick nodded. "I don't care what we do with her. I just want her gone. This is all so stupid."

Pete just closed his eyes and sighed. "Well, everyone's already decided to wait until morning. But, if you two are so sure about this, I'll go get the others."

After a few minutes, everyone was ready to go out.

"Remember, be careful." Luke said as he opened the door. "Storm's brought out a few of 'em. Be on look-" he never finished his sentence, as a scream erupted through the wet and cold night.

And it came from the shed.

"Oh, no. Clementine!" Luke practically yelled as he began to sprint for the shed, everyone else tailing behind him. He barely stopped before he ripped the doors open, rifle at the ready and eyes scanning the interior.

A single lurker lay on the floor, grumbling and moaning as it ate.

Luke's rifle fell lowered. Nick's raised. Pete, Carlos and Alvin all gasped. Rebecca stayed silent.

Clementine was dead.

AN: Well, there we go. The first chapter. Sorry that this one was so short. This is the first time in months that I have written anything, so I'm a little rusty.

Anyway, reviews are appreciated, and any feedback will be welcomed.


	2. Chapter 2

No one really knew what to do.

A gunshot would just attract more lurkers, and nobody really wanted to risk getting bit. They all stood, watching the lurker eat what was left of Clementine.

After what seemed like forever, it seemed to be finished with its meal, as it raised its head to look at the survivors. Blood dripped from its mouth and landed on the ground, leaving small puddles as it rose to its feet, stretching out a hand to grab the nearest person.

It didn't get the chance.

Carlos pushed his way to the front of the group, grabbed the lurker by its hair and slammed it to the right, braining it on the shelf. It fell limp, dead once more.

That seemed to break the trance, as Nick turned away from the shed, and walked away without a word. Rebecca followed. Luke slowly made his way over to Carlos, who was kneeling by the dead girl.

"We... This..." Luke stammered as his eyes landed on the body, her neck reduced to nothing but muscle holding the head to the rest of her. "This is our fault, Carlos."

The doctor only sighed in response. "She'll turn. Soon."

"Y-yeah, you're right..." Luke ran his hand through his hair. "A-Alvin, why don't you go inside? Check up on Bec?"

Alvin nodded. "Yeah, sure. You two'll... You'll be okay?" The man crossed his arms, and lowered his head.

"I think so. I'm gonna... Take care of her."

"You got it. I don't wanna see that." Alvin then walked away as well, shaking his head with his hands in his pockets. Luke stood facing Clementine's body, trembling. He put her in this shed. He got her killed. And he was going to have to live with that.

"It was a dog bite." Carlos muttered. Luke's head snapped to look at his friend.

"What?" He questioned.

"I knew it was a dog bite from the second I saw it."

Luke's hands curled into fists. "Then why the hell did you say-?!"

Carlos cut him off with a raised hand. "I'll explain later. Right now, we need to deal with her." Carlos reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pistol, and handed it to Luke. "You do it. I need to go have a talk with Sarah." The doctor started to walk off, but Luke stopped him.

"You need to stop sheltering that girl someday, Carlos."

"I know." With that, he pushed his way through Luke and walked towards the cabin, leaving Luke alone with Clementine.

With a sigh, Luke knelt done to the body and looked it over, not seeing any weapons or valuables on her. But, her right arm caught his attention.

"The hell?" He reached over and grabbed the arm, the hairs on his neck standing up at the cold feeling. Clementine's arm was stitched up.

"Must've snuck in during the meeting... Shame it was for nothin'..." He placed the arm back at her side and sighed. "'M real sorry, Clementine. You deserved better." With those words, he reached over and removed her hat, putting it off to the side. Another final glance at the girl, he raised the gun, and pulled the trigger.

Luke stepped into the cabin, Clementine's hat in his hands, rifle in the other and pistol in his pocket. He walked to the couch and sat with a plop, sighing heavily. "Dammit Carlos..." He muttered, leaning back into the couch. "A fuckin' dog bite..."

Before he could mutter anymore, he heard footsteps coming in from the kitchen, so he shut his mouth as Nick walked in and sag next to him.

It was silent for a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry you had to do that, Luke." He sighed. "I know it was a dog bite, now... If I wasn't so damn stubborn..." Nick shuddered a little as fresh tears started to escape his eyes. "I shouldn't have left you out there by yourself... Some friend I am."

Luke put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, now don't you start that. I wasn't there when your mom... And-and I should've been there. Clementine is on all of us. Any one of us should've noticed that her wound wasn't no lurker bite. And Carlos... He told be that he knew all along."

Nick turned to look at his friend. "W-what?!"

"It's true."

Nick's shoulders sagged. "No fucking way. Carlos... He-he wouldn't do something like that."

Luke sighed and leaned back again. "I didn't believe it either. Carlos' a good guy, but... I just can't think of any reason to risk a little girl's life like that."

"Me neither." Nick sighed, and stood up. "Never even got to apologize for nearly shootin' her..." He muttered as he retreated into his room for the night, leaving Luke alone.

Poor kid, Luke thought. Twirling Clementine's hat on his pointer finger, Luke stood and walked to his own room, laying in the bed and placing the hat on a dresser.

"Sorry, Clem..." He sighed as he closed his eyes.

The next morning, nobody wanted to go outside. Going outside meant going out to the shed. Going out to the shed meant burying Clementine. And nobody wanted to bury Clementine.

The first one to rise was Nick. He spent the first few minutes of daylight by going out and digging a hole. Eventually, the other survivors awoke, and one by one they all gathered outside.

Carlos needed a few minutes to clean up the body.

After that task was done, Carlos carried the corpse over to the hole, and gently placed her in. Nobody said a word as Nick and Luke filled the ground back up.

After what seemed like forever, the shovels dropped. With a sigh, Nick turned and walked away. "Hope you're happy, Carlos." He said under his breath as he opened the door and stepped inside.

"What?" Rebecca questioned. "W-what did he mean, Carlos?"

The doctor lowered his head. "I always knew it was a dog bite." Rebecca, Alvin and Pete all let out an audible gasp. "I had my reasons for doing what I did. I just... I never meant for this to happen."

For a while, nobody said anything. Eventually, Pete walked over to Carlos, and glared at him. "I hope you're happy with yourself, Carlos. That little girl needed your help!"

"I know that. Her death is my doing. And I know it. But there's nothing I can do about it now." With those words, he too walked back into the cabin, leaving Luke, Pete, Alvin and Rebecca standing by themselves, all dumbfounded and speechless.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, so, so sorry about the longer wait! I will try to get the next one out sooner, but no promises. Anyway, here we go!

A few hours had gone by. Nick and Pete went to go fishing, Rebecca and Alvin had retreated into their room, Carlos was talking with Sarah, and Luke walked around outside, rifle in his hands as he looked around.

Clementine's hat rested on his head. It didn't feel right for him to bury it with her, for some reason. The winter was coming soon, anyway, and he would need something to help keep him warm.

As he turned a corner, continuing his lap around the house, a noise caught his attention.

"Huh?"

Luke raised his rifle and turned to the direction of the noise. Two pairs of footsteps, running at the cabin. His finger pressed against the trigger, waiting for the pair to show themselves.

"Luke!" Nick's voice sounded paniced. He emerged from the woods with Pete by his side, "We gotta go!"

Luke lowered his weapon as the two made their way towards him. "Huh?"

"Carver and his gang are nearby." Pete responded. "Shot up a group of people by the stream."

Luke turned to the older man. "Okay... Okay. Get inside and pack up your things. We're leaving within the hour."

The other two nodded and walked with Luke back inside the cabin.

Just barely forty minutes later, the group was ready to go. Everything they had, though it wasn't much, was packed. Luke lead at the front of the group, Nick by his side, the map in his hands.

"Okay, y'all, we should reach those mountains in about five days." Luke announced.

"Five days...?" Rebecca complained, her hands moving to her stomach.

"It'll be alright, Bec. We'll be okay." Alvin comforted his wife.

They continued walking through the early day. The sun was nearing the top of the sky, but was still far enough away that they could get some distance in.

Luke kept his eyes front. They were not getting caught anytime soon.

"Nick." Luke said.

"Huh. what?"

"What happened exactly? When you and Pete went to the stream?" Nick's pace slowed for a second before he corrected himself.

"We... Found bodies. A lot of 'em. Full of bullet holes. Pete and I were lookin' over them, but... Lurkers got the jump on us. Pete almost got bit, so we hightailed it outta there. Couldn't take any chances."

Luke sighed. "Well, I'm just glad both of you got out okay."

"Yeah..." Nick said under his breath and began to lag behind, eventually falling behind the rest of the group.

"Poor kid..."

Five days later, the group was exhausted. Rebecca's pregnancy caused them to stop multiple times, her cramps getting worse day by day. Alvin, without fail, always asked for his wife to get just a little more than her daily rations, even offering up his own for her.

Nick and Pete argued. Whether it be about missing a shot resulting in the loss of a meal or something mundane as saying the wrong thing. The two, dispite their fights, were both very worried for the other, since the stream. Nick wouldn't let Pete go anywhere near any lurkers. Pete wouldn't let Nick go anywhere alone.

Carlos and Sarah were doing fine, as far as Luke could tell. Nothing too different between them.

"Alright y'all, let's stop here. There should be a bridge right over there." Luke said as he pointed to the west. "And beyond that should be a ski lodge. I'm gonna go scope it out. Come on, Nick." Luke said as he walked off, Nick trailing behind him.

The bridge was red with rust, rickety and nearly uncrossable. Wood boards were coming loose, and there were at least three lurkers walking around it. Nick and Luke stepped on to the bridge, a little unsettled at the creaking that accompanied them. "Well, here we go." Nick stated, and began walking forward, with Luke following after him.

A few moments of silence lingered between the two before the lurkers took notice of them. "Shit." Nick cursed and raised his rifle, but Luke stopped him.

"Don't risk the noise. Use this." He gave Nick his hammer, and Luke pulled out his own machete. "Don't die."

"You too."

The two advanced on the lurkers, with one lunging for Nick, who dodged and rammed the sharp end of the hammer into its brain. Luke used his own weapon and sliced off a lurkers head, the body falling limp and the head rolling off the side of the bridge. One more remained, which Nick took a hold of and tossed it over the side.

"Nice." Luke complimented, raising his free hand for a high five which Nick returned with a smile. "Now, lets see what's on the other side."


	4. Chapter 4

Luke and Nick kept walking along the bridge, laughing just a little at their encounter with the lurkers. Their laughter was short lived, however.

A figure was walking towards them, a gun in their hand.

Nick raised his own rifle, but Luke stopped him. "Stop."

"What?! We don't know if this guy's with Carver or not!"

Luke yanked Nick's gun away. "Then we find out."

Silence lingered as the figure moved closer, pointing his gun at them. They could make out his features now. An Asian man, it looked like, with a slight beard and mustache.

"Well? Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Luke. This is Nick." Nick glared at him for a second before turning to the stranger.

"And who are you?" Nick asked.

"I'm Matthew." Matthew looked them over and set down his gun. "Well, you don't look like assholes... A-are you assholes?"

Luke turned to his friend and shrugged. "I guess that depends on how you define 'assholes'." He turned back to Matthew. "But... Uh... We ain't gonna hurt you, if that's what you're asking."

Matthew smiled. "I gotta say, you two look like shit. I've got some food in that station back there, if you want some."

Luke shared a glance with Nick. "You sure? 'Cause we got a group, back behind us. Is there some for them?"

Matthew's smile grew wider. "Yeah. I got plenty, though most of it's back at the lodge."

Luke smiled. "Great, thanks. We're gonna get everyone else, and be right back."

"No problem. I'll wait."

The group took the news well. At the mention of food, Alvin immediately jumped up, as Rebecca needed some. Carlos also made mention of Sarah getting hungry. Luke wasn't starving, but wasn't about to pass up a chance to eat.

He straightened his hat and walked back towards Matthew with the group behind him. At the sight of everyone, Matthew was startled for a second but calmed down once he saw Luke in the front.

"Hello." Matthew said. "Yeah, we'ere gonna have to head up to the lodge. My partner Walter should be getting dinner ready."

"Thanks again, Matthew. We've been walking for days now. Just need a place to stay for the night."

Matthew looked ahead as they began walking. "Just call me Matt. You're welcome to stay at the lodge as long as you like."

"Your people okay with that?"

Matthew took a second to respond. "Eh, Kenny might have a problem with it, but usually Walter and I can make him agree."

"Well, okay."

"How... How far away is the lodge...?" Rebecca panted as they climbed up the mountain.

"Just a little longer, Bec." Alvin tried to sooth his wife, but to no avail.

Luke was getting tired, too. Everyone was. Especially Sarah, though he figured that was due to them moving and not so much exhaustion.

"You guys'll like Walter, Kenny and Sarita. Walt and I used to come here before the dead started walking. We started running out of food about a year ago, and decided to see if this place was still up. It was."

"And how'd you meet this... Kenny and Sarita?"

"They showed up about a few weeks ago. Kenny was beat to hell, Sarita wasn't much better. I don't know much about them from before they met up with us." Silence lingered yet again. Luke didn't know what to say, really.

"Uh... Well, I'm glad they're alright."

A few minutes later, the climb was done. Everyone was tired, panting and sweating. Matthew laughed them off.

"Hah. The climb never gets easier. But, you get used to it."

"This much excersize should be illegal."

"Doesn't really matter nowadays, though."

Luke tried to laugh. He did. But he was simply too tired.

"Anyway, you guys wait out here. I'm gonna go get Walter and the others." Matthew walked into the porch and opened the door, walking inside and closing it behind him.

Luke looked around for a bit, and spotted where the ski lift dropped passengers off. "I'm gonna climb up there, see if we've been followed." He said as he walked over and started climbing up.

He stepped onto the top of the drop off, and took out his binoculars. "Okay, let's see what we got."

Nothing, at first. He could see the bridge and the woods. A couple of lurkers were walking on the bridge, but what caught his attention most were the sudden lights that appeared and vanished a second after.

"Shit." He mumbled. He needed to get down there and tell the others.

He made his way down, and heard his group talking to Matthew's. "Glad to hear they're getting along."

His feet touched the ground. He stretched and groaned, and started walking back towards the lodge.

"So, you're a doctor, right?"

"Yes, I am. I have been for over ten years."

Luke slowly walked onto the porch and looked around at the people before him.

Matthew was standing next to a slightly overweight man, who he assumed was Walter. A bit farther away was a bearded man standing next to a woman who looked foreign. Since Carlos was talking to Walter, Luke decided to talk to who he assumed was Kenny and Sarita.

However, as he walked closer and he entered Kenny's eyesight, the man's face contorted into a look of confusion and anger. Luke straightened his hat.

"Uh... Hello, there. Name's Luke." He offered his hand, but all Kenny did was look at him.

"Where'd you get that hat?" Kenny asked him. His voice was gravelly, pained.

"Uh... Well... A little girl came by our cabin with a wound on her arm... She said it was a dog bite, but not everyone believed her. It... She got eaten soon later. I put her down and... Well, took her hat, I guess."

With every word, Kenny became angrier and angrier. His face was red and his eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of his head. His teeth were glared and pressed together, and his fists were clenched into balls.

"What. Was. Her. Name...?" He growled.

"Uh... It... It was Clementine-"

What he was going to say after that didn't matter, as Kenny punched him in the face and knocked him down. He was soon on top of Luke, still punching him.

"You fucker! I'll fucking kill you!"

Pain kept searing through Luke's body as Kenny beat him.

With all the dumb luck, they ran into the one guy who knew her.

Luke just payed there. He couldn't do anything. Kenny punching him so hard he couldn't do anything even if he wanted to.

Eventually, Kenny was yanked off by Sarita and Carlos, and Luke was helped up by Sarah and Nick. "Jesus, are you okay?" Nick asked. Luke couldn't answer. All he could do is silently ponder why he let that girl die.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait, everybody. Some personal things came up, so I wasn't able to work on this. But, here it is!**

Kenny was dragged inside, kicking and screaming as he was pulled away. "You fucker! I'll kill you! You killed her!" He screeched as tears fell from his face, and he swung his fists in every way he could, struggling against Sarita and Carlos.

Luke was carried inside by Nick and Sarah, who both struggled against his weight. "Come on, buddy, just get inside..." Nick pleaded as he pulled the door to the lodge open. "Carlos'll fix you up... You'll be okay..."

Luke felt himself being lowered on to a couch. His face burned. His nose was most likely broken. Maybe a cracked bone in his face.

"Carlos, you gotta fix him!" Pete's voice said.

"Sarah, get my supplies!"

"Oh, God... Luke..."

All the voices were jumbled together, sounding more like drunken slurring than individual people. Luke could not move. His head was pounding, his breathing shallow, and his muscles not responding. The couch was comfortable, though. That's a plus. He felt Carlos begin to clean his wounds.

"Why the fuck are y'all helping this shitbird?!" Kenny's voice roared. "Just leave him! Throw him out!"

Nick didn't like that. He raised his rifle and pointed it directly at the older man. "Fuck you, buddy. We ain't leavin' Luke."

"Listen, Vanilla Ice, you are getting on my last god damn nerve! That fucker killed Clementine!" Kenny was starting to cry again, the anguish in his voice becoming more evident with each word. "That girl didn't deserve to die! She deserved to live through this!"

"It ain't Luke's fault!"

"Then whose is it?!"

Carlos stopped working on Luke's injuries. "It's mine, Kenny." Carlos turned away from Luke, crossed his arms and walked between the two other men. "She showed me her dog bite, and I said that it was a lurkers!" Carlos balled his hands into fists, and shoved his face closer to Kenny's. "If you want to kill anyone, it's me, before anyone else." He growled.

At the doctor's words, Kenny's face of hatred faltered momentarily before he walked off in a huff. "You fuckin' piece of shit." Kenny stepped outside, Sarita following him.

Carlos only sighed and walked back over to Luke.

After two hours or so of fussing over Luke, Carlos was satisfied that he would be fine. He sighed and turned away from Luke who was unconscious on the couch.

"What's the damage, Carlos?" Pete asked as he walked over. "Seems like the kid took one helluva beating..."

"Well... His nose is broken. He lost some blood, some bad bruises, but he should recover in a few days. A week, at the most. Honestly, we're just lucky he didn't get much worse."

Pete breathed a sigh of relief. "Nick's been a wreck. Seein' your best friend get his ass handed to him does somethin' to ya."

"I hope Sarah's doing okay... I haven't had a chance to speak to her."

"As far as I can tell, she's fine. A little shaken, but she should live."

Carlos sighed. The way his daughter was, she wasn't going to survive much longer. And if something were to happen to him... She would cease to function.

"She needs to be taught how to survive. Shooting, hunting, all those things." Carlos stated. "We leave in the morning, a few hours at the earliest, though Luke needs more rest than that." Another sigh. "I'm just afraid, Pete."

Pete looked at the doctor. "You're afraid? I'd imagine so. And if I'm right, I think I know why you had Luke lock up that girl."

Carlos looked at the floor. "And if you do know, you'll keep it to yourself." He nearly growled. "I don't want to think about it."

Pete's hands turned into fists. "You don't want to think about it?! Carlos, Nick and Luke ain't gonna forget that girl, and neither will Rebecca or Alvin. And if Sarah's tell in' the truth, Clementine wanted to be her friend. So, you need to stop bein' afraid, and make sure what you're fearing don't happen."

Carlos yet again sighed. "I know, Pete..." Carlos let out a shaky breath and uncrossed his arms. "I need you to watch over Luke for a few minutes. I'm going to talk to Sarah."

"You do that." Pete sighed and turned to the unconscious Luke.

Kenny stood outside the back of the lodge, his mind ablaze and fists balled tightly. His body shook in a mix of anger and anguish, small tears dropped down his face, and he slumped against the railing.

"Fuckers..." He sobbed. Clem was dead. The harsh reality of it all, that little girl who he had not seen for nearly two years was dead. Clementine, little Clementine, who was only eight years old last he saw her, had been eaten alive in a shed.

And those sons of bitches put her there.

With a pained cry, he raised his fist and brought it down on the wooden railing with a loud pound. A kick soon followed, and another punch, kick, punch, kick, punch, kick. It was all he could do.

"Clem... "


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, everybody. I promise future ones will be longer.**

Luke's vision was blurry.

You'd expect that, as he was out for about a day. And his nose was broken. So that didn't help.

"Shit..." He mumbled through swollen and bloody lips. His lips were caked in dried blood and several teeth were chipped or missing. Kenny had beaten him to hell.

"Holy... You're awake!" Someone said. Luke's hearing wasn't fully working just yet. Ringing in his ears, annoying him even though he had only just woken up.

"Ugh..." Was all he could manage.

Nick sat beside him in a hurry, and propped Luke up and rested him on Nick's side.

"You feelin' all right?"

"N-no... No, I'm not."

Nick sighed. "Yeah, I'd expect that. Your nose is broken, some teeth are gone, and Carlos said you might have a concussion. You took a fuckload of a beating."

"Yeah, yeah I did." Luke paused for a moment, blinking a little to restore his vision. "I need... Go ask someone if I could get something to drink..."

"You got it."

With that, Nick rose and left Luke alone.

Carlos didn't want to do this.

He stood just a little ways away from where his daughter sat, talking to Sarita and Matthew with a reserved look on her face. Sarita and Matthew had apologized to both Carlos and Sarah for having to watch what happened to Luke.

But that wasn't why Carlos needed to talk to his daughter.

No, this was about Clementine, that little girl that he killed.

Ever since that night, he had wondered, "how did she make it so far, being younger than Sarah, who still had no idea how to survive?"

Seeing Clementine with that wound on her arm terrified him. If something like that could happen to her, it could most definitely happen to Sarah. And it terrified Carlos.

With a shaky breath, he walked over to his daughter.

As he walked over she looked up at him and smiled weakly. "Hi, Dad." She said simply. She looked at the expression on her father's face, and her smile fell. "Um... What's wrong? Is Luke okay?"

Carlos simply hung his head. "Thank you for watching her," he told Sarita and Matthew. "But I need to talk to her alone."

Matthew nodded. "We understand. Come on, 'Rita."

Sarita sighed at the nickname as they walked away. "I wish you would stop calling me that..."

Carlos watched them walk away. With each step they took, the closer he was to having this talk.

"Sarah."

The fifteen year old jumped at her name. "Yeah, dad?"

Carlos sat down in front of his daughter. "Do you... Remember what happened to your mother?"

A sharp gasp escaped Sarah's lips. "I... I... Why?"

Carlos locked eyes with his daughter. "Because, Sarah, she... She died because she... She relied on me to protect her. And the one time I couldn't, she paid the price."

Carlos saw a tear fall from her face. "What... Why are you saying this...?"

"Because I don't want what happened to her, to happen to you." Carlos choked back a sob. "I loved your mother dearly, Sarah, and I love you more than anything else in this world. You need to survive, Sarah. You can't rely on me to save you all the time."

Silence reigned between the father and daughter for a solid two minutes, each processing what the doctor had said.

Finally, Sarah spoke. "This is about Clementine, isn't it?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Carlos's eyes widened, but when he tried to object, she cut him off. "I'm not stupid, Dad. Ever since she... died... You've been looking at me like I'll die at any time."

"Sarah..."

"If you want to teach me all that stuff... Guns, hunting... I'll do it."

Carlos smiled. "Thank you, Sarah. I think it'll be best if we start-"

He was cut off by the sound of a sudden storm.

Walter ran outside to see Kenny standing there, looking at the wind turbine. "Kenny! You've got to shut it down!"

The man turned to face Walter, and with a nod jumped the wooden railing and ran for the turbine.

"Matthew!" Walter called.

The younger man ran out of the lodge, rifle in hand, and looked at his partner. "Yeah?"

"I need you to keep any walkers off of Kenny. I'm going to check on the transformer, it'll blow any second." He pulled Matthew in for a hug and ran off.


	7. Chapter 7

The storm had come out of nowhere.

Dammit.

This would pose a problem. His men would be soaking wet by the time they reached the lodge, and thus making them weaker.

"I don't care what it takes," he spoke, his gravelly voice nearly being drowned out by the rain. "We will reach that lodge. Get our people."

Bonnie, a small country woman with red hair walked up to him, assault rifle in her hands. "Bill, are... Are you sure we should keep goin'?"

"Yes, Bonnie. We don't stop until we get our people."

"But- but- this rain is slowin' us down, and walkers are walking towards that there lodge...?"

"Plan doesn't change. We stay the course."

"But why go through all this trouble-"

"Because I fucking said so!" He barked as he stopped and turned to face the woman. Her face turned to fear and worry, and her grip on the gun tightened.

He had half a mind to shoot her right then.

"Let's go." He ordered as he began walking again, his men following him.

William Carver vowed to get his child. No matter what.

Luke slowly got up from the couch despite every muscle in his body begging him not to. The storm had come out of nowhere, surprising everybody. The wind turbine out back was spinning out of control, making so much noise that would draw lurkers. Possibly Carver.

Finally rising to his feet Luke started limping to the back door, making sure to stop to grab his machete and Carlos's pistol.

He stepped outside to see Kenny over by the turbine, trying to figure out how to turn the damn thing off.

"How do you turn this damn thing off?!" He barked at no one.

Luke rolled his eyes as he walked over to the other man. He reached the turbine and stepped beside Kenny.

"Get the fuck away from me." He growled.

"Nope." Luke responded. "Look, you need some light in here. I got a lighter." Luke reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small black lighter. He flicked it to life, and light flooded the panel.

Kenny growled again.

"Look, now see that button thing there? Looks like it needs a key."

No sooner than the words left Luke's mouth, Kenny's hand grabbed a key from the right side of the panel and inserted it into the slot on the button, and turned it.

The turbine slowed to a halt, and the noise it created stopped, leaving the survivors in a silent night. It was quiet, and nothing moved, save for a few lurkers.

"Something ain't right." Kenny stated.

Luke nodded.

He could see him from here.

Luke, standing next to a wind turbine with another man right beside him.

"Go." He ordered.

He started walking forward, not acknowledging the presence of several biters. As he moved, his eyes locked with Luke's, who's face was stained with dried blood and was swollen.

Gunshots rang out behind him, and the biters around them fell dead.

"Bonnie, round our people up. And their friends."

Carver was here.

Bonnie was here.

They were heavily armed.

"We're fucked." Luke muttered. His hands moved to his machete, and he slowly unsheathed it and pointed it at Carver, who shook his head as he neared.

"Who the fuck is this guy?" Kenny asked, but Luke remained silent. He kept his weapon pointed at Carver and gave his most menacing look, but due to his current state it wasn't much.

Carver was face to face with Luke now. Bonnie and two other guards stood behind him.

"Put the machete down, Luke." Carver said calmly, almost like he was pleading. When his weapon didn't lower, the other man's face contorted to anger.

With a growl his fist went straight to Luke's gut, sending him to the ground.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." Nick mumbled to himself as he ducked and weaved past the windows of the lodge, careful not to be seen by a chance glance by anyone out there. Carver had punched Luke, and that was all Nick had needed to see before he ran to find his uncle.

"Uncle Pete?!" Nick called, only to be answered by silence. Swearing under his breath, he again moved forward through the lodge.

He needed a clear shot. He needed to get a clear view of Carver, or anyone, and kill them.

"Oh, God..." He whispered as Bonnie and the two men started walking towards the lodge.

Luke was in pain.

His gut wrenched, he knelled over in pain and his weapon fell to the ground.

"See? That wasn't so hard." Carver taunted. "Bonnie, Johnny, Wyatt, go check out the lodge. Bring everyone out here."

A chorus of "yes" ringed as the three guards started walking away.

Kenny place his hands on Luke's back and chest and helped him get steady. "Who the fuck are you?" He asked Carver.

"I don't think you're the one who should be asking the questions here, beardy." Carver glared at Kenny as he spoke, and Kenny's grip on Luke tightened.

"Nice hat, Luke. Where'd you get it?" Bill questioned. "Looks a bit too small for you."

The younger man could only scoff in response.

After about a minute of silence, Carver shook his head. "No, no, no, Luke. And here I thought you were the leader. Look me in the eye, Luke." Carver ordered. Luke refused. He tore his gaze to the ground, directly at his machete.

"I said," Carver began to bring his fist back, "look me," he brought his fist straight for Luke's face, impacting it and sending him to the ground. "Look me in the _fucking_ eye."

Kenny stumbled, the force of the impact tripping him.

"You fucker!" He shouted. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

Carver ignored him.

Carlos held his daughter in his arms as Bonnie and two men entered the lodge. From his position on the second floor, he could see Nick running around the windows making his way to his rifle, and Pete waiting at the door with his sniper at the ready. The doctor only held his shaking daughter.

"Daddy..." She whimpered, clutching at his shirt for dear life. His grip on her tightened.

"It'll be okay, Sarah. We'll be okay-"

Suddenly, the door opened and a gunshot rang out. Carlos quickly turned his gaze to Pete to find him reloading his sniper, a dead blonde man laying on the floor.

Nick ran to his uncle, rifle in hand, and the door opened more to reveal Bonnie. As her eyes landed on the body, she nearly dropped her gun.

"W-Wyatt..."

Her eyes darted up to see Pete, his sights directly on her face.

"P-please, no..."

Carlos was about to go down there, but Bonnie was shoved out of the way by the other man, and his assault rifle fired into the house.

it was dead silent for all of a second before Nick's voice yelled in anguish.

"UNCLE PETE!"


End file.
